Bulked and entangled multifilament thermoplastic yarn

Abstract

A bulked and entangled multifilament thermoplastic yarn and an improved process for the formation thereof which, when tufted into a fabric, presents a grass-like appearance. The yarn is made by melt spinning and water quenching filaments of a melt spinnable synthetic organic thermoplastic polymer, such as polypropylene, in a continuous process, drawing the filaments, imparting bulk and entanglement in a fluid jet entangling mechanism and taking up the thus entangled yarn on a yarn winder. Also disclosed is an improved fluid jet entangling mechanism employed in the process.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A multifilament melt-spinnable plastic yarn comprising a plurality of melt-spinnable, liquid quenched plastic filaments mutually entangled by laterally oriented filaments loops penetrating between the other filaments, said filaments having a noncircular cross section; and said yarn being characterized in that there are no more than about three segments of unentangled filaments of at least about 15 centimeters in length between adjacent entangled filament loops per meter of yarn on an average basis.   
     
     
       2. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said yarn is characterized further in that there is no more than about one segment of unentangled filaments of at least about fifteen centimeters in length between adjacent entangled filament loops per five meters of yarn on an average basis. 
     
     
       3. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said yarn is characterized further in that there are about one to about three segments of unentangled filaments of at least about fifteen centimeters in length between adjacent entangled filament loops per meter of yarn on an average basis. 
     
     
       4. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said melt-spinnable plastic filaments are substantially rectangular in cross section. 
     
     
       5. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said melt-spinnable plastic filaments are substantially rectangular in cross section with an aspect ratio of width to thickness of said cross section of approximately 6 to 1. 
     
     
       6. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said melt-spinnable plastic filaments are formed of a polymer comprising a polyolefin. 
     
     
       7. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said melt-spinnable plastic filaments are formed of polypropylene. 
     
     
       8. A yarn as defined in claim 1 wherein said melt-spinnable plastic filaments are formed of extruded, liquid quenched polypropylene. 
     
     
       9. A yarn as defined in claim 8 or claim 1 wherein said yarn comprises filaments having about 97 to about 191 denier per filament. 
     
     
       10. A yarn as defined in claim 9 wherein said yarn comprises 34 filaments.